Device for transporting ships.



, PATENTED JUNE 18 E. 0. WEST A. F- ,WOLTHER. I DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTINGSHIPS.

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THE NORRIS PETERS co., wsnmarou, n. C.

No. 857,264. r PATENTBD JUNE, 18, 1907.

E. 0. WEST & A.- F. WOLTHER.

DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING SHIPS. APPLICATION FILED mm 27. 1906.

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- No. 857,264- v PATENTED JUNB18, 1907.

B. G.- WEST 8; A P. WOLTHER. DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING SHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1906. I

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UNITED STATES PATENT. OFFICE.

EARL C. WEST AND ALBERT F. WOLTHER, OF BROWN TON, MINNESOTA.

DEVICE FOR TRANSPORTING SHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1907 Application filed June 27,1906. Serial No.823,738-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EARL C. WEST and ALBERT F. WoLTHER, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Brownton, in the county of McLeod, State ofMinnesota, have in' vented certain new and useful Improvements inDevices for Transporting Ships; and we do hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswill enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to devices for transporting ships overland fromone body of Water to another and has for its object to provide aconstruction of this nature which will securely hold a ship duringtransportation.

A further object of the invention resides in the-provision of means forsupporting upon the structure a ship of any size within certain limits,the said means being so constructed as to automatically grip the hull ofthe ship when the same settles into position upon the structure.

Furthermore, the invention includes a system of gearing which is soarranged that the structure may be propelled from the propeller shaft ofthe ship itself.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of theinvention in use. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the invention, the shipbeing omitted. F ig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional viewtherethrough. Fig.

4 is adetail transverse sectional view therethrough showing the positionof the shipgripping members when a ship is in position upon thestructure. Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the position of the grippingmembers after removal of the ship, and Fig. 6 is a detail perspectiveview of one of the pairs of gripping members.

The invention comprises a bed frame ineluding side beams 10 and endbeams 11 and upon the under edges of the frame are journaled axles 11carrying flanged wheels 12 which travel upon tracks 13 supported upon Inpractice the tracks extend over the route to be traveled and have theirterminals extending into locks (not shown) into which the ship to'betransported is propelled, the Water being in any suitable mannerWithdrawn from the lock to allow the ship to settle into position upon.the structure. The side beams 10 of the bed frame are braced by means ofbrace beams 15, the said beams serving to hold them against spreading.

Secured at corresponding intervals to the side beams 10 of the bed andextending upwardly. therefrom are standards 16 which serve to supportthe hull gripping members of the structure which will now be described.Each of the gripping members comprises a pair of gripping arms 17 whichare pivoted to their respective standards 16 as at 18 and have theirinner ends directed toward each other and provided with head plates 19which are secured thereto for rocking movement in any suitable mannerand are provided upon enable the plates to positively grip the sides ofthe ships hull.

Extending downwardly in converging planes from the outer ends of thearms 17 of each pair and pivotally secured thereto, are rods 22 whichare pivotally connected at their lower ends to the adjacent ends of astout spring bow 23 upon Which the keel of the ship to be transportedrests. The arch of the bow is directed upwardly and it will be seen thatthe weight of the ship Will tend to straighten the same and in doing so'will pull downwardly upon the rods 22, causing the inner ends of thearms 17 to swing upwardly to engage the hull of the ship and firmlysupport the same in an upright position. Furthermore, it will be seenthat the weight of the ship will only tend to increase the grippingaction of the arms.

Mounted upon the rearmost axle 11 is a rail 25 extending in parallelrelation tothe rails 13. The cog wheel is provided with bevel gear teeth26, and meshing with the same is a bevel gear 27 upon one end of a shaft28 which is mounted in a suitable bracket 29 to the rear of the bedframe of the structure and which is provided at its extreme rear endwith a bevel gear 30. A shaft 31 is j ournaled in a bracket 32 carriedand to the lower end of the shaft is secured a bevel gear '33 Whichmeshes with the bevel gear 30. The last-named shaft is driven from thepropeller shaft 34 of the ship by means of meshing bevel gears 35 and36, the gear 35 being secured to the upper end of the shaft 31 and thegear 36 to the said propeller shaft.

It Will be seen from the above that the structure may be readilypropelled by power derived from the ship which is being transtheiropposing faces with serrations 20 which cog Wheel 24 which is in meshwith a rack v by the rear end beam 11 of the bed frame,

- thereby, and means operated from said ship ported thereby but, in Viewof the fact that other than screw-propelled ships, Will at times betransported and that the power derived from the propeller shaft may beinsufficient for an upgrade, I have provided an electric motor 37 Whichis'supported upon a platform 38 intermediate the side beams of the bedframe and Which has its power shaft 39 geared to the axle 11 by means ofa sprocket chain 40.

What is claimed as the invention, is

1. A structure of the class described comprising a Wheeled truck, a shipsupported for propelling the truck.

2. A structure of the class described including means for automaticallygripping a ship to be transported thereby.

3. A structure of the class described comprising a Wheeled truck,gripping arms mounted upon the truck and arranged to grip a ship to betransported thereby, and means connecting the arms and arranged to rockthe same to engage a ship, the ship being designed to rest upon theconnecting means.

4. A structure of the class described comprising a Wheeled truck,gripping arm's mounted upon the truck and arranged to grip a ship to betransported thereby, rods connected With the arms, and a spring plateconnecting the rods and arranged for engagement by the ship to cause therods to rock the gripping arms.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature, in presence of tWoWitnesses.

EARL 0. WEST. ALBERT F. WOLTHER. WVitnesses:

JAMES BOHN, JOHN S. Wnsr.

